Iván Navarro ‘DIE’ Sculpture

Paul Kasmin Gallery is host to a new exhibition of Navarro’s new sculpture “Die,” (2009). Iván Navarro’s work, constructed mainly out of fluorescent tubing and electrical materials, transmits social and political commentary in a functional, complex and visually stunning sculptural format.

“Die” (2009) is the second of Navarro’s sculptures to respond to the American sculptor Tony Smith’s famous six-foot steel cube, “Die” (1962). Smith’s sculpture was designed to match human scale; he claimed that anything larger would be a monument and anything smaller an object. In 2006, Navarro made a twelve-foot black cube titled “Die Again (Monument for Tony Smith).” From the outside, “Die Again” is a massive black cube made of steel and plywood. A door-like entrance on the surface invites the viewer to enter the structure, whose interior is filled with lights, mirrors and sound.

“Die” (2009) is a four-foot plywood black cube. In accordance with Smith’s statement, it appears as more of an object. Although the piece is hollow, its mirrored inside allows viewers to look down through a virtual space that extends beyond the actual material boundaries of the cube and into an illusory hole plunging deep into the earth. This spatial effect is produced by a neon light that is installed between a mirror on the floor and a one-way mirror on the top of the cube.